1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a digital display type electronic watch. More specifically, the present invention relates to an improvement in a digital display type electronic watch having a stopwatch function.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A typical conventional digital display type electronic watch comprises six or four digit positions each adapted for displaying a selected numeral, such that the current time information is displayed. Such six digit positions are usually used such that the most significant two digit positions are allotted to indicate hour information, the middle significant two digit positions are allotted to indicate minute information and the least significan two digit positions are allotted to indicate second information. According to another example, such six digit positions are used such that the least significant two digit positions are allotted to indicate date information instead of second information. Similarly, such four digit positions are typically used such that the more significant two digit positions are allotted to indicate hour information and the less significant two digit positions are allotted to indicate minute information.
A digital display type electronic watch having a stopwatch function has also been proposed and put in practical use. In case where such a stopwatch function is incorporated in a digital display type electronic watch having six digit positions, merely chronometrical information concerning the measured time can be displayed as accurately as the order of minute, second and one tenth second at the best, inasmuch as the least significant two digit positions should be allotted to display the one tenth second information and hence the remaining more significant digit positions must be allotted to indicate only minute and second information. If the chrohometrical information should be indicated as more accurately as the order of one hundredth second, for example, the largest possible measured time information would be limited to a smaller value. Nevertheless, in such a situation where such an electronic watch having a stopwatch function is used to measure record time in a marathon game, for example, a time period as long as more than say two hours must be indicated as accurately as the order of one tenth second information at the least. However, a conventional digital display type electronic watch having a stopwatch function can merely indicate chronometrical information concerning the measured time up to the order of less than one hundred minutes or sixty minutes, depending on how large numerical value can be indicated in the most significant two digit positions in such an electronic watch. Thus, it is desired that chronometrical information can be displayed in such an electronic watch having a stopwatch function up to the hour order and to the accuracy of one tenth second order without any substantial additional arrangement.